■I    THE  UKRAINE  AND  THE  UKRAINIANS 


STEFAN  RUDNITSKY,  PH.  D. 

Privatdozent  of  Geography  at  the  University  of  I^emberg 

Translated  from  the  German  by 

JACOB  WITTMER  HARTMANN,   PH.  D. 
Assistant  Professor  of  the  German  I^anguage  and  I^iterature 

AT  TH8  CoI,I<EGB  OF  THE  CiTY  OF  NEW  YORK 


With  three  explanatory  maps. 


f\i,'m 


'    '  ^' A/VVw\/'v 


Jersey  City,  N.   J. 

The  Ukrainian  Nationai<  Council 

1915 


f^UlKK.*^ 


ERRATUM : 

Page  8,  line  10   (from   above)    for:    750.000   square   kilo- 
meters, read:  75.000  square  kilometers. 


THE  UKRAINE  AND  THE  UKRAINIANS 


STEFAN  KUDNITSKY,  PH.  D. 

Privatdozent  of   Geography  at  the   University   oe  Lemberg 

Translated  from  the  German  by 

JACOB  WITTMER  HARTMANN,   PH.  D. 

Assistant  Professor  of  the  German  IvAnguage  and  Literature 
AT  the  CoIvI,ege  of  the  City  of  New  York 


With  three  explanatory  maps. 


Jersey  City,  N.   J. 

The  Ukrainian  Nationai.  Councii, 

1915 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

I.   Prefatory    5 

II.  Geographical  Extent  of  the  Ukraine 5 

III.  The  Ukrainian   Nation lo 

IV.  Race   ^4 

V.  Language    lo 

VI.  History    i8 

VII.  Culture    3i 

VIII.  Significance  of  the  Ukraine 33 

IX,  Bibliography    I 

X.  Maps: 

1.  Map  of  Central  Europe V 

2.  Map  Showing  the  Soils  of  European 

Russia  VI 

3.  Map   Showing  Position  of  Ukrainian 

Territory    VII 


2107623 


I.  PREFATORY. 

Ukraine  —  Ukrainian  —  are  names  that  mean  little 
to  inhabitants  of  Central  and  Western  Europe.  It  is  the 
object  of  these  lines  to  introduce  these  names  to  as  wide 
a  circle  as  possible  and  to  restore  to  them  the  importance 
which  they  have  long  appeared  to  lack. 

The  Ukraine  is  a  vast  territory  in  the  southern  part 
of  Eastern  Europe  which  is  inhabited  by  the  Ukrainian 
people.  As  a  rule  the  country  is  erroneously  called  "Little 
Russia",  "South  Russia",  "West  Russia".  And  with  just 
as  little  reason  its  inhabitants  are  called  "Little  Russians", 
"South  Russians",  or,  in  Austria,  "Ruthenians",  "Russins", 
"Russnjaks".  Unfortunately,  the  physical  geography  and 
the  anthropogeography  of  this  land  and  people  are  almost 
as  little  known  in  Europe  as  their  history  and  their  pre- 
sent significance,  which  results  in  an  utter  absence  of 
correct  judgement  on  these  matters. 

What  is  offered  here  is  not  a  scientific  anthropo- 
geographical  essay,  but  simply  an  extremely  concise  state- 
ment of  everything  that  seems  important  in  the  bearing 
of  this  subject  on  the  present  warlike  era.  Much  that 
appeared  indispensable  from  the  scientific  standpoint  had 
to  be  sacrificed  to  the  educational  purpose  of  this  paper. 

IL  GEOGRAPHICAL  EXTENT  OF  THE  UKRAINE. 

The  Ukrainian  nation  lives  in  a  compact,  unbroken 
country,  larger  in  area  than  any  other  European  state, 
Russia  alone  excepted.  The  Ukraine  extends  over  850,000 
square  kilometers,  being  therefore  one  and  one-half  times 
as  large  as  the  present  German  Empire. 


Its  surface  includes  the  southern  part  of  the  eastern 
European  plain,  resting  in  the  south  on  the  arch  of  the 
Carpathians,  the  Jaila  mountains,  and  the  Caucasus,  as 
well  as  on  the  shore  of  the  Black  Sea  from  the  delta  of 
the  Danube  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kuban.  Its  northern 
boundary  is  determined  by  the  great  swampy  forest  of 
the  Polissje  on  either  side  of  the  middle  course  of  the 
Dnieper.  The  vast  plain  extending  between  these  long 
boundary-lines  is  the  Ukraine,  one  of  the  richest  countries 
on  this  globe,  because  of  its  rich  black  soil  and  its  depos- 
its of  coal,  iron,  petroleum  and  salt.  And  this  fair  land 
is  the  domicile  of  a  race  that  has  suffered,  during  the 
past  ten  centuries,  a  multitude  of  most  severe  trials,  but 
which  has  nevertheless  been  able,  although  sometimes 
but  weakly,  to  conserve  its  territorial  and  ethnographic 
integrity. 

The  ethnographic  boundaries  of  Ukrainian  territory 
are  the  following :  the  western  boundary  begins  at  the 
Sulina  section  of  the  Danube  Delta,  the  city  of  Ismail, 
passes  through  Akkerman  in  Bessarabia,  then  along  the 
lower  course  of  the  Dniester,  past  Orgiejeff  and  Bielzy, 
to  Nowosielitza.  In  the  Bukowina,  the  Ukrainian  boundary 
passes  via  Storozynetz,  Wikow,  Moldawitza,  Kirlibaba 
to  the  source  of  the  Tsheremosh,  after  which  it  enters 
northeastern  Hungary.  Here  it  follows  the  course  of  the 
Visso  and  Theiss  rivers,  as  well  as  the  Gutlnge  Mountains, 
and  then,  by  way  of  the  towns  of  Ujlak,  Beregszasz,  Mun- 
kacs,  Unghvar,  Bartfeld,  and  Lublau,  it  reaches  the  Poprad 
River  in  Galicia.  The  boundary  line  in  Galicia  between 
Poles  and  Ukrainians  is  indicated  by  the  towns  of  Grybow, 
Gorlice,  Dukla,  Sanok,  and  by  the  River  San  as  far  as  Jaro- 
slaw  and  Sieniawa.  In  Russian  Poland,  the  western 
boundary  runs  east  of  the  towns  of  Zamosc,  Krasnostaw, 
Lukow,  Siedlce,  Drohiczyn,  finally  terminating  in  the 
province  (government)  of  Grodno,  at  the  source  of  the 
Narew,  in  the  forest  of  Bialowiez. 

The  northern  boundary  of  the  Ukraine,  in  the 
governments    of    Grodno    and    Minsk,    passes    along    the 


Jasiolda  River  and  Lake  Wygonoshtsh,  to  the  Pripet, 
which  it  follows  until  that  river  empties  into  the  Dnieper. 
The  continuation  of  this  northern  boundary  in  the 
government  of  Tshernigoff  is  indicated  by  the  course  of 
the  Dnieper  as  far  as  Lojeff,  then  by  the  cities  of  Rylsk, 
Sudsha,  Obojan,  Korotsha,  Oskol;  in  the  government  of 
Voronesh,  by  the  river  Don  at  Ostrohoshk,  and  the  town 
of   Novochopersk. 

The  eastern  line  runs,  in  the  basin  of  the  Don,  along 
the  river  Choper  to  its  mouth,  then  follows  the  Kalitwa 
and  the  Lower  Donetz  and  the  Don  as  far  as  Novo- 
cherkask,  and  then,  following  the  Sal  past  Lake  Manytsh 
and  the  city  of  Stavropol,  it  strikes  the  northern  approaches 
to  the  Caucasus.  At  this  point  the  boundary  becomes 
rather  uncertain,  for  a  very  active  colonizing  movement 
has  been  drawing  Ukrainian  peasants  into  this  region 
for  decades,  and  a  thin  line  of  Ukrainian  settlements 
already  extends  to  the  Caspian  Sea.  At  any  rate  the  terri- 
tory along  the  Black  Sea,  north  of  a  line  drawn  through 
Piatyhorsk,  Labinsk,  Maikop,  Tuapse,  is  Ukrainian. 

If  we  enter  these  boundaries  on  a  political  map  of 
Europe,  we  shall  note  that  two  nations  each  enjoy 
possession  of  a  part  of  Ukraine.  These  are  Austria-Hun- 
gary and  Russia.  But  their  portions  are  very  unequal. 
Austria-Hungary  controls  but  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  Ukraine  (one-eleventh) ;  Russia  has  the  rest.  The 
boundaries  of  the  provinces  and  governments,  respectively, 
of  the  two  nations  are  entirely  independent  of  the  ethno- 
graphic facts,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  reading  of  the 
following  statistics  may  give  the  impression  that  the 
Ukrainians  have  nothing  but  scattered  settlements  in 
alien  lands,  as  far  as  the  outlying  portions  of  the  U- 
kraine  are  concerned.  That  is  not  the  case,  however. 
When  we  read,  for  instance,  that  the  Ukrainians  make 
up  3670  of  the  population  of  the  government  of  Voronesh, 
this  is  a  result  of  the  fact  that  the  southern  portion  of 
this  government  is  densely  populated  by  Ukrainians  (in 
the  Ostrohoshk  District  they  are  94 ^r   of  the  population, 


Bohutshar  District  83 ^c,  Byrjutsh  District  yo^c,  Waluiki 
53%,  etc.),  while  the  northern  part,  ethnographically 
speaking,  lies  entirely  in  Russian  territory. 

I  am  going  to  add  some  statistical  data  concerning 
the  Ukraine,  as  I  cannot  otherwise  convey  a  clear  idea 
of  the  country.  We  shall  for  the  present  entirely  omit 
that  portion  of  the  country  that  is  in  the  possession  of 
Austria-Hungary  (Eastern  Galicia,  Northwestern  Buko- 
wina, Northeastern  Hungary,  together  aggregating 
750,000  square  kilometers  with  a  Ukrainian  population 
of  4,200,000).  We  shall  devote  all  our  attention  to  the 
Russian  Ukraine.  Our  statistical  data  are  taken  from  the 
official  Russian  estimates  of  1910,  the  percentages  indi- 
cating the  relative  numerical  strength  of  the  various 
nationalities  from  the  first  Russian  Census,  of  1897.  It 
will  scarcely  be  suggested  that  any  of  these  statistics 
were  made  with  a  Ukrainian  bias. 

As  v/e  enter  Russia,  the  first  important  Ukrainian 
dominion  is  the  government  of  Volhynia  (71,700  square 
kilometers,  3,850,000  inhabitants).  Here  the  Ukrainians 
form  the  basic  elem.ent  of  the  population:  there  are 
70%  of  them;  other  races  are:  Jews,  13%;  Poles,  6^0; 
Germans,  6^c ;  Russian,  3%;  Chechs,  i^L  Adjacent  to 
this  important  Volhynian  aggregation  of  Ukrainians,  are 
the  western  and  northv/estern  march-lands  of  the  Ukraine: 
the  government  of  Cholm  with  390,000  Ukrainian  inhabit- 
ants, particularly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hrubeshif 
and  Tomashif,  the  southern  third  of  the  government  of 
Grodno  with  440,000  Ukrainian  inhabitants,  around  Brest, 
Kobryn,  Bielsk,  and  the  southern  strip  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Minsk  v/ith  890,000  Ukrainians  around  Pinsk 
and   Mosyr. 

The  neighboring  government  of  Podolia  (42,000 
square  kilometers  with  3,740,000  inhabiants)  has  81% 
of  its  population  Ukrainian;  Jews,  9%;  Russian,  3%; 
Poles  2'^r.  This  Podolian  aggregation  is  contiguous  with 
the  outskirts  of  the  Ukrainian  portion  of  the  government 


—    9    — 

of  Bessarabia,  which,  except  in  these  Ukrainian  north- 
west and  southwest  portions  of  the  province,  is  inhabited 
chiefly  by  Rumanians  (460,000  Ukrainians  in  the  vicinity 
of  Chotyn  and  Akkerman).  The  third  important  Ukrainian 
section  is  the  government  of  Kieff  (51,000  square  kilo- 
meters with  4,570,000  inhabitants) ;  the  Ukrainians  here 
constitute  79%  of  the  population;  Jews,  12%;  Russians, 
6%;  Poles,  a^o.  The  government  of  Cherson  seems  very 
much  more  mixed  as  to  the  character  of  its  population 
(71,000  square  kilometers  with  3,450,000  inhabitants), 
54%  are  Ukrainians,  21%  Russians,  12%  Jews,  5%. 
Rumanians,  \^o   Bulgarians,  1^0  Poles. 

The  important  Ukrainian  provinces  to  the  right  of 
the  Dnieper  have  now  been  enumerated;  those  on  the 
left  side  of  that  river  are  also  of  great  significance.  In 
the  government  of  Chernihiv  or  Chernigoff  (52.000  square 
kilometers  with  2,980,000  inhabitants),  the  Ukrainians 
constitute  86%  of  the  total  population;  in  the  government 
of  Poltawa  (50,000  sq.  kilometers  with  3,580,000  inhabs.), 
98% ;  in  the  government  of  Charkiv  (54,000  sq.  km., 
3,250,000  inhabs.),  70%.  The  remaining  inhabitants  are 
Russians  and  Jews.  Contiguous  with  these  almost  purely 
Ukrainian  governments  are  strips  of  other  governments 
containing  Ukrainians :  in  the  southern  part  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Kursk  are  670,000  Ukrainians;  (around  Putywl, 
Hrajworon,  Novooskol) ;  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
government  of  Voronesh  are  1,210.000  Ukrainians  (around 
Ostrohoshsk,  Bohutshar,  Byrjutsh,  Valuiki)  ;  and  in  the 
western  part  of  the  Don  basin  there  are  980,000  Ukra- 
inians   (around  Taganrog,   Rostov,   etc.). 

The  three  remaining  important  Ukrainian  govern- 
ments (i.  e.,  governments  in  which  Ukrainians  are  either 
positively  a  majority  of  the  population  or  are,  at  least, 
more  numerous  than  any  other  national  element)  are: 
Ekaterinoslav  (63,000  sq.  km.,  3,060.000  inhabs.),  with 
69%  Ukrainians,  17%  Russians,  5%  Jews,  4%  Germans, 
7.^0  Greeks,  1%  Tartars,  1%  V/hite  Russians,  1%  Poles, 
Tauria   (60.000  sq.  km.,   1,880.000   inhabs.),  with  42%    U- 


—    10    - 

krainians,  28%  Russians,  1370  Tartars,  sfo  Germans, 
3%  Jews,  3%  Bulgarians,  1%  Armenians;  the  Kuban 
district  (92.000  sq.  km.,  2,630.000  inhabs.),  with  47^0  U- 
krainians,  44%  Russians,  9%  various  Caucasian  tribes. 
In  the  district  of  Stavropol,  Terek,  Black  Sea  District, 
which  form  the  outskirts  of  the  Ukrainian  population, 
there  are  510,000  Ukrainians.  All  the  sections  named 
after  Tauria  have,  moreover,  been  for  several  years  the 
scene  of  an  exceedingly  active  Ukrainian  colonization 
movement,  so  that  it  is  a  very  safe  assumption  that  the 
percentages  of  1897  are  hardly  applicable  at  present. 

In  addition  to  the  above  indicated  territory,  which 
may  be  considered  as  on  the  whole  compactly  Ukrainian, 
there  are  more  than  600,000  Ukrainians  in  the  following 
governments  along  the  southern  course  of  the  Volga: 
Astrakhan,  Saratov,  Samara,  Orenburg.  Further  evi- 
dences of  the  vast  colonial  expansion  of  the  Ukrainian 
people  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  there  are  500.000 
of  them  forming  a  thin  chain  of  settlements  through 
Russian  Central  Asia  and  southern  Siberia  up  to  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean;  there  are  500,000  in  the 
United  States,  200,000  in  Canada,  60,000  in  Brazil  and  the 
Argentine.  A  grand  total  of  all  the  Ukrainians  on  earth 
in  19 10  would  read  thirty-four  and  one  half  milion,  of 
which  32,700.000  live  in  soKd  Ukrainian  territory. 

The  Ukrainians  therefore  must  be  considered  as 
numerically  the  sixth  race  of  Europe,  the  five  above 
them  being,  in  order,  the  Russians,  Germans,  English, 
French,  and  Italians. 

III.    THE    UKRAINIAN    NATION. 

A  host  of  questions  must  now  assail  the  critical 
reader:  If  this  is  the  case,  why  is  this  great  race,  why 
are  these  Ukrainians  entirely  unknown  to  the  outside 
world?  Perhaps  the  Ukraine  is  merely  an  ethnographic 
conception?  Perhaps  these  Ukrainians  are  merely  a  tribe 


—   11   — 

of  the  great  Russian  race,  as  Bavarians  or  Saxons  are 
tribes  of  the  German  race?  Perhaps  they  are  Russians 
who  became  partially  polonized  during  the  many  years 
of  Polish  domination?  Or  perhaps  the  ideas  of  "Ukraine", 
"Ukrainians",  are  simply  figments  of  the  over-heated 
brains  of  a  band  of  enthusiasts,  lost  in  contemplation  of 
a  glorious  past  and  a  glorious  future,  who  represent  the 
object  of  their  ardent  desires  as  a  fait  accompli? 
and   so   forth. 

To  give  a  short  and  decisive  answer  to  questions  of 
this  nature  is  always  very  difficult,  as  must  necessarily 
be  the  case  where  the  subject-matter  is  so  entirely  un- 
familiar. Yet  we  shall  give  this  short  and  decisive  answer 
at  once,  and  shall  prove  its  correctness  with  a  series  of 
evidence. 

The  Ukrainians  constitute  a  Slavic  nation  just  as 
clearly  and  sharply  defined  as  do  the  Poles,  the  Russians, 
the  Chechs,  or  the  Bulgarians.  Their  historic  roots  extend 
as  far  back  into  the  middle  ages  as  do  those  of  the  Ger- 
man, French,  or  English  peoples.  But,  while  the  evolution 
of  these  great  European  nations  has  been  a  steady  and 
uninterrupted  process,  the  Ukrainian  people,  by  reason 
of  their  geographical  location  on  the  very  threshold  of 
Asia,  were  held  back  in  their  development,  their  growth 
finally  being  almost  entirely  stopped.  The  ancient  U- 
krainian  state  of  Kieff  was  destroyed  by  Djingis  Khan's 
Mongolian  hordes,  after  which  the  land,  in  a  horribly 
devastated  condition,  came  under  Lithuanian  rule,  later 
under  that  of  the  Poles,  but  neither  were  strong  enough 
to  defend  the  Ukrainians  against  the  continued  incursions 
of  the  Tartars.  These  extended  over  a  period  of 
more  than  five  centuries,  thus  stunting  absolutely  the 
growth  of  the  Ukrainian  people,  who  had  at  the  same 
time  to  defend  themselves  against  Polish  oppression.  It 
was  the  instinct  for  self-preservation  that  led  this  race, 
at  this  dark  stage  of  its  history,  to  organize  that  wonder- 
fully efficient  belligerent  instrument,  the  army  of  U- 
krainian  Cossacks  (Saporogs).     The  Cossack  body  carried 


—     12     — 

on  victorious  wars  against  Poles,  Tartars,  Turks,  and 
Russians,  and  made  possible  the  formation  of  a  new 
Ukrainian  state  centuries  later  (Bogdan  Chmelnyzkyj, 
1648). 

By  the  Treaty  of  Perejaslav,  the  Ukraine  was 
ceded  as  a  vassal  state  to  Russia,  with  which  it  had  been 
affiliated  by  ties  of  religion  (1654).  But  the  latter  country 
managed  to  break  the  contracts  of  suzerainty  and  to 
transform  the  rather  loose  dependence  of  the  weaker 
state  into  abject  serfdom.  Ukrainian  autonomy  and  the 
organization  of  the  Cossack  system  were  abolished.  The 
nation  lost  its  upper  classes,  its  aristocracy,  its  lesser 
nobility,  its  wealthy  burghers,  through  Polonization  or, 
later,  Russincation.  It  had  left  only  its  minor  clergy,  its 
lower  middle  class,  and  a  completely  downtrodden  pea- 
santry. Thus,  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it 
seemed  as  if  the  last  hour  of  the  Ukrainian  people  had 
struck. 

But,  trained  by  the  misfortunes  of  a  thousand  years, 
the  vital  energy  of  the  Ukrainian  people  could  not  be 
suppressed.  The  enslaved  Ukrainian  peasant  had  developed 
an  unsuspected  faculty  for  colonization  and  began  to- 
ward the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  after  Russia 
had  reduced  the  Crimean  Tartar  state»  to  occupy  the  vast 
steppe  regions  along  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Caucasus, 
and  to  add  these  districts  to  ethnographically  Ukrainian 
territory.  The  spiritual  culture  of  the  farmers,  more 
particularly  the  oral  transmission  of  an  exceedingly  rich 
body  of  popular  poetry  (Volksdichtung),  made  possible 
a  mighty  flowering  of  Ukrainian  literature  in  the  nine- 
teenth century.  In  spite  of  every  variety  of  obstruction 
on  the  part  of  the  Poles  and  of  the  Russian  government, 
which  used  the  most  stringent  measures  in  its  opposition 
to  their  progress,  the  ranks  of  the  Ukrainian  aristocracy 
of  brains  grew  more  and  more  numerous;  the  literature, 
the  art,  the  science  of  the  Ukrainian  people,  weakened 
by  ten  centuries  of  suffering,  attained  remarkable  heights. 
Their    actual    accomplishment,    considered    absolutely,    or 


—     13    — 

measured  by  Western  European  standards,  makes  their 
record  appear  not  very  striking  for  a  nation  of  thirty 
millions,  yet  we  must  not  overlook  i)  that  the  Ukrainians 
are  a  Slavic  race;  2)  that  they  live  in  Eastern  Europe;  3) 
that  they  have  a  relatively  small  group  of  intellectuals. 
Yet  this  little  band  of  natural  leaders  for  the  millions 
who  constitute  the  masses  of  the  Ukrain'an  people,  are 
ianimated  by  a  historical-political  tradition  of  a  thousand 
years,  and  by  a  distinctly   outlined  national  ambition. 

We  must  therefore  consider  the  Ukrainians  to  be 
a  "Kulturvolk"  in  the  sense  in  which  Kirchhoff  uses  the 
word,  and  the  immediate  future  will  shov/  whether  they 
have  the  power  of  becoming  a  national  race  ("Staats- 
nation"). In  a  way  they  have  already  proved  their  title 
to  such  consideration  by  organizing  two  national  govern- 
ments. 

There  are  two  strong  oppositions,  hostile  even  to 
each  other,  of  the  desire  of  the  Ukrainian  people  for  a. 
realization  of  their  national  aspirations.  They  are  the 
hierarchic  ambitions  of  tv/o  states  who  once  ruled,  and 
even  nov%7  rule  over  Ukrainian  territory,  the  „state  ideas" 
of  Poland  and  Russia. 

Both  views  coincide  in  emphasizing  one  statement: 
"There  is  no  such  country  as  the  Ukraine,  there  are  only 
Poland  and  Russia,  only  the  Polish  nation  and  the  Rus- 
sian nation".  But  then  these  two  attitudes  begin  to 
diverge.  The  PoLsh  "state  idea",  the  idea  of  a  Polish 
Empire  extending  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Black  Sea,  would 
regard  the  Ukra'nian  farmers  as  a  portion  of  the  Polish 
peasantry,  distinguished  from  the  latter  merely  by  their 
religion  and  their  dialect,  a  good  material  on  which  to 
establish  an  expansion  of  Polish  culture  and  political 
pov/er.  But  in  the  Russian  national  plans,  the  Ukrainians 
are  called  "Little  Russians",  a  tribe  of  the  Russian  race, 
differing  a  little  from  the  great  mass  of  the  "compact 
Russian  nation",  but  only  in  their  dialect.  The  present 
Russian  state  is  the  only  heir  of  the  "ancient  Russian" 
state    of    Kieff,    it    has    for    centuries    been    rallj'ing    the 


—    14    — 

"Russian"  lands  about  its  standard,  and  now  has  mani- 
festly the  duty  of  incorporating  with  the  great  Russian 
Empire  the  only  remaining  "Russian"  land,  Eastern  Ga- 
licia,  which  is  "groaning"  under  the  foreign  yoke,  "There 
never  has  been,  is  not,  and  never  shall  be  a  distinct 
Little  Russian  language",  said  the  Russian  Minister  of 
Instruction  in  1863.  In  other  words,  the  Pan-Slavic,  Pan- 
Russian  "doctrine  of  unity"  considers  the  Ukrainians  to 
be  Russians  at  heart,  as  much  as  are  the  inhabitants  of 
Moscow  or  Tula, 

These  two  views  of  the  Ukrainian  situation  have 
until  very  recently  prevailed  in  all  the  intellectual  circles 
of  Europe,  whether  among  scholars,  publicists,  statesmen, 
or  others.  The  rising  scholarship  and  propaganda  of  the 
Ukrainians  were  almost  powerless  to  combat  these  er- 
roneous conceptions.  Things  did  not  begin  to  show  in 
their  real  colors  until  after  the  opening  of  the  present 
century. 

The  following  paragraphs  can  scarcely  do  more  than 
touch  upon  the  outstanding  facts.  But  even  these  slight 
data  will  probably  convince  the  attentive  reader  how 
empty  are  the  Polish  and  Russian  pretentions  in  this 
Ukrainian  question. 

The  chief  requirements  that  an  independent  nation 
must  fill,  are  the  following,  beginning  with  those  least 
important  and  ending  with  those  most  essential :  common 
anthropological  indications,  a  distinct  language,  common 
historical-political  traditions  (in  the  past)  and  common 
aspirations  (for  the  future),  an  independent  civilization 
and   a   compact    geographical   distribution. 

IV,  RACE. 

First,  as  to  the  anthropological  characteristics.  To 
set  up  such  indications  of  national  cohesion,  to  regard 
them  as  Indicative  of  race,  has  been  almost  entirely  given 
up  in  Western  Europe,  For  ceaseless  racial  blendings, 
often  capable  even  of  historical  proof,  have  almost  enterely 


—     15    — 

eradicated  the  original  anthropological  distinctions  in 
Central  and  Western  Europe.  But  the  case  is  quite 
different  in  Eastern  Europe.  As  is  well  known,  the 
physical-geographical  landmarks,  in  Western  Europe,  are 
quite  varied  and  interesting,  as  opposed  to  a  great  uni- 
formity once  we  reach  Ukrainian  soil.  The  same  uni- 
formity, monotony  almost,  of  racial  traits  is  noticeable 
in  that  territory  also,  as  opposed  to  the  great  variety  of 
racial  types  west  of  the  Ukraine.  The  foreign  tribes  pas- 
sing through  the  Ukraine  in  historic  times  were  ex- 
clusively rather  small  bands  of  nomads,  who  devastated  the 
country   without    establishing   themselves    in   it. 

To  be  sure,  even  the  Ukrainians  are,  anthropologi- 
cally speaking,  a  mixed  race,  but  the  mixture  is  a  peculiar 
one,  of  exceedingly  long  standing,  and  entirely  different 
from  the  Polish  or  Russian  blend. 

Here  are  a  few  figures,  showing  how  these  three 
races  of  Eastern  Europe  compare: 


Ukrainians 

Russians 

Poles 

Height 

1670  mm 

1657    mm 

1654  mm 

Chest 

550.4 

521.8 

541.1 

Length  of  arm 

457 

460 

457 

Length  of  leg 

536 

505 

521 

Cephalic  index 

83.2 

82.3 

82.1 

Nasal  index 

67.7 

68.5 

66.2 

Breadth  of  face 

180 

182 

181 

Facial  index 

78.1 

76.7 

76.3 

8-,        C        •• 

light 

29.5  % 

37  % 

35  % 

2            ß 

medium 

35  % 

41  % 

46  % 

dark 

35  % 

22  % 

19  % 

^      -73      O 

o     c    o 

These  figures,  taken  from  the  latest  statistics  of 
Ivanovski  and  Volkov,  should  sufficiently  answer  the 
contention   that    the    Ukrainians    are    Polonized    Russians 


—    16    — 

or  Russified  Poles.  And  they  contradict  equally  well  the 
oft-made  but  erroneous  statement  that  the  Ukrainians  are 
a  blend  of  Slavs  with  Mongolian  nomad  tribes.  The 
bodily  traits  of  the  Ukrainian  people  present  absolutely 
no  traces  of  Mongolian  influence,  such  as  are  well-known 
to  be  quite  pronounced  in  the  case  of  the  Russians. 

A  single  glance  at  these  data  will  show  that  the 
Ukrainians  show  but  very  slight  relationship  with  the 
Russians  or  Poles.  Deniker's  division  assigns  the  Ukrai- 
nians to  the  so-called  Adriatic  (Binaric)  Race,  while 
the  Poles  and  the  Russians  are  to  be  classified  with  the 
so-called  Interrelated  Races,  the  Vistula  or  Oriental  Race. 

V.   LANGUAGE. 

An  independent  nation  need  not  necessarily  have 
a  language  that  distinguishes  it  sharply  from  other  na- 
tions, as  is  shov/n  by  the  examples  of  the  United  States 
and  Switzerland.  But  even  th!s  m.eans  of  distinguishing 
themselves  from  the  surrounding  peoples  is  possessed  by 
the  Ukrainians.  To  be  sure  the  view  has  been  rather 
widely  circulated  in  Europe  that  the  Ukrainian  language 
is  only  a  peasant  dialect  of  the  Polish  language,  and 
official  Russia  has  hitherto  maintained  that  it  is  nothing 
m.ore  than  the  "Little  Russian  dialect"  of  the  Russian 
language.  But  the  philological  investigations  of  Miklosich, 
Jagic,  Potebnja,  Zytezkyi,  Ohonowskyi,  Shakhmatov, 
Korsch,  Stockyi,  and  others,  have  shown  conclusively 
that  the  Ukrainian  language  is  by  no  means  a  mere 
dialect  of  the  Polish  or  of  the  Russian  language,  but 
that  it  is  an  independent  language  equal  to  and  distinct 
from  these  two  languages.  Finally,  even  the  Imperial 
Academy  of  Sciences  of  St.  Petersburg,  in  its  famous 
decision  of  1905,  expressed  this  view,  distinctly  emphasiz- 
ing the  independence  of  Ukrainian  from  Russian,  and 
adding,  that  the  Russian  language  should  not  be  forced 
upon  the  Ukrainians,  as  the  latter  possessed  a  fully 
developed   language   and  literature. 


The  Ukrainian  written  language  has  a  history  of 
fully  a  thousand  years  behind  it.  In  the  ancient  Ukrainian 
Kingdom  of  Kieff  there  arose  the  socalled  Chronicle  of 
Nestor,  the  Epic  of  Igor,  and  other  important  monuments 
of  Ukrainian  Literature.  Their  language  has  been  built 
up  on  the  foundation  of  the  Church  Slavonic  dialect,  but 
presents  great  linguistic  departures,  as  early  as  the 
eleventh  century,  from  the  literary  v^^orks  simultaneously 
produced  in  the  Russian  territory  to  the  North. 

This  promising  beginning  of  the  old  Ukrainian  Lite- 
rature was  almost  completely  crushed  by  five  centuries 
of  Tartar  barbarism.  Not  until  the  last  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century  did  it  come  into  its  own  again,  a 
change  that  was  perhaps  due  to  the  introduction  of  the 
pure  popular  speech  in  place  of  the  Old-Slavic-Macaronic 
hitherto  used  in  literature.  In  the  course  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  history  of  Ukrainian  literature  has  a  number 
of  great  poets  and  prose  writers  to  show  (Shevchenko, 
Vovchok,  Fedkovych,  Franko,  Kulish,  Vynnychenko,  etc.), 
as  well  as  a  considerable  number  of  lesser  writers.  Their 
works  are  characterized  by  enormous  variety  and  versa- 
tility. And  the  second  half  of  the  century  was  also  marked 
by  a  very  active  study  of  the  sciences,  leading  to  the 
founding  of  two  learned  bodies  very  much  along  the  plan 
of  the  socalled  "Academies"  (in  Lemberg  and  Kieff). 
In  every  branch  of  human  knowledge  the  Ukrainians 
can  already  point  to  publications,  books,  dissertations, 
in  their  language. 

The  versatility  and  richness  of  Ukrainian  literature 
assure  it  a  prominent  place  among  the  other  Slavonic 
literatures,  thus  furnishing  proof,  if  any  is  needed,  that 
the  Ukrainian  language  really  is  a  language,  and  not  a 
mere  dialect;  it  is  a  civilized  language  in  every  sense  of 
the  word.  And  the  testimony  of  Ukrainian  scholarship 
strengthens  the  case  beyond  all  doubt.  The  roots  of  the 
Ukrainian  literary  language  in  the  speech  of  the  common 
people  make  clear  that  it  will  be  an  admirable  means  of 
educating  the  race,  in  view  of  their  wellknown  intelligence. 


—     18     — 

into  an  enlightened  and  progressive  nation.  But  the  Rus- 
sian government  has  been  thoroughly  aware  of  this  fact, 
and  has  left  no  stone  unturned  in  its  efforts  to  stop  this 
young  literature  in  its  growth,  which  efforts  culminated 
in  the  famous  ukase  of  the  Czar  (1876),  forbidding 
absolutely  the  publication  of  any  writ- 
ings in  the  Ukrainian  language.  None  but 
a  really  living  and  significant  literature  could  have 
survived  these  thirty  years  (1876 — 1905)  of  repression. 
And   Ukrainian  literature  has  stood  this  test! 


VI.   HISTORY. 

The  most  important  distinguishing  characteristic  of 
a  real  nation  is  the  fact  that  it  possesses  its 
own  historic  o-p  olitical  traditions  and  am- 
bitions for  the  future,  thus  furnishing  the  basis 
for  that  constant  plebiscite  which  E.  Renan  regards  as 
the  thing  makes  a  race  into  a  nation. 

It  is  their  common  historico-political  tradition  that 
gives  the  Ukrainians  their  most  important  indications  of 
separate  national  existence.  And  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  dense  ignorance  that  prevails  in  Western  Europe 
regarding  the  history  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent, 
and  for  the  advertising  carried  on  to  this  very  day,  by 
Russian  scholars,  in  behalf  of  their  propaganda  for  "Rus- 
sian" history,  which  has  worked  its  way  into  all  books 
on  Eastern  European  history,  this  real  condition  of  affairs 
could  never  have  remained  obscure  so  lang. 

The  ancient  Kingdom  of  Kieff,  which  is  called  "Old 
Russian"  in  all  historical  treatises,  was  in  reality  a  state 
organized  by  the  Southern  Slavic  races  of  Eastern  Europe, 
the  precursors  of  the  present-day  Ukrainians.  This  State 
of  Kieff  was  already  in  existence  at  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  century.  With  the  aid  of  mercenaries  from  Scan- 
dinavia (Varangians)  this  state  grew  stronger  after  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century,  and  during  the  tenth  gives 


—     19     — 

evidences  of  a  remarkable  activity  of  expansion.  The 
Northern  Slavic  tribes,  the  forebears  of  the  Russians  of 
today,  were  subjugated  by  the  Kingdom  of  Kieff,  the 
nomadic  tribes  of  the  steppes  were  pushed  back,  com- 
mercial and  cultural  relations  were  established  with  the 
Byzantine  Empire,  which  seem  to  have  been  actively 
carried  on,  and  in  the  year  9S8  the  Great  Prince  of  Kieff 
(Vladimir  the  Great),  together  with  all  his  people,  ac- 
cepted Greek  Christianity  from  Constantinople,  but  with 
Slavic  rites.  There  ensued  a  great  flowering  of  material 
and  spiritual  civilization,  which  aroused  the  admiration 
of  travelers  from  Western  Europe. 

The  fact  that  the  ancient  state  of  Kieff  as  v/ell  as 
its  civilization  was  produced  by  Ukrainians  is  evident 
not  only  from  the  circumstance  that  the  most  ancient 
literary  monuments  of  Kieff  already  show  specifically 
Ukrainian  peculiarities  of  language.  A  still  more  important 
bit  of  evidence  is  the  constitution  of  the  ancient  King- 
dom of  Kieff.  The  power  of  the  Great  Prince  v/as  limited 
not  only  by  the  influence  of  his  retainers  (Drushyna), 
from  which  later  the  caste  of  the  Boyars  sprung,  but 
also  by  the  General  Assembly  of  all  freemen  (the  socalled 
Vitche).  The  original  constitutional  —  sit  venia 
V  e  r  b  o  —  yea,  almost  republican  rural  government  of 
the  Ukrainians  had  a  tremendous  influence,  with  the 
result  that,  throughout  the  history  of  the  ancient  King- 
dom of  Kieff,  Its  Great  Princes  were  engaged  in  a  struggle 
with  the  Boyars  and  the  people,  for  the  exercise  of  their 
powers.  This  limitation  of  the  monarchic  power  turned 
out  to  be  a  disaster  for  the  Kingdom  of  Kieff.  By  apply- 
ing the  practice  of  succession  to  the  throne  in  accordance 
with  a  principle  known  as  that  of  "seniority",  there  result- 
ed the  formation  of  numerous  petty  principalities,  all 
rather  loosely,  perhaps  only  nominally,  subject  to  the 
authority  of  the  Great  Prince  of  Kieff.  The  Boyar  caste 
and  the  people  were  very  persistent  in  their  labors  to 
aid    in    the    formation    and    maintenance    of    these    petty 


—    20     — 

principalities    throughout    the    southern    portion    of    the 
Kingdom  of  Kieff, 

In  the  north,  conditions  were  quite  different;  there 
were  the  little  principalities  on  the  Oka,  and  Moscow. 
Only  the  ruling  dynasty  came  from  Kieff,  the  people 
were  a  mixture  of  northern  East  Slavonic  tribes  and  the 
aboriginal  Finnish-Mongolian  population.  From  this  melt- 
ing-pot the  Russian  nation  takes  its  origin.  The  spirit 
of  the  people,  so  different  from  that  of  the  Ukrainians, 
enabled  the  Russian  petty  monarch  to  crush  the  power 
of  the  nobility  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century,  and  to 
introduce  an  arbitrary  form  of  government.  That  is  the 
germ  from  which  the  Russian  Empire  of  the  present 
has  sprung. 

This  young  Russian  nation,  whose  directing  center 
was  first  Vladimir  and  later  Moscow,  began  waging  a 
series  of  bloody  wars  against  Kieff,  weakening  that 
country  so  lastingly,  that  the  headquarters  of  Ukrainian 
political  life  had  to  be  shifted  southward,  in  the  13th 
century,  to  Halitsh  on  the  Dniester. 

In  fact,  the  situation  of  this  Kieff  country  was  such 
as  to  expose  it  also  to  continous  invasions  on  the  part 
of  the  nomadic  warlike  hordes  which  infested  the  steppes 
of  the  Ukraine.  But  the  nation  managed  to  hold  them 
in  check  during  this  weary  term  of  warfare.  When,  how- 
ever, the  hosts  of  the  Mongol  potentate  Djingis-Khan 
appeared  in  the  Pontian  steppes,  the  resources  of  Kieff 
and  Halitsh  were  no  longer  equal  to  the  pressure.  In 
the  three  days'  battle  on  the  Kalka  (1224)  their  army 
was  annihilated,  and  in  1240  the  city  of  Kieff  was  razed 
to  the  ground.  The  principality  (later  kingdom)  of 
Halitsh  survived  it  by  almost  a  century,  but  could  not 
withstand  the  continued  aggressions  of  the  Tartars  on 
one  side,  and  of  the  Poles  and  Lithuanians  on  the  other; 
in  1340  it  was  incorporated  with  Poland  by  right  of 
succession,  and  thus  ended  the  first  national  organization 
of  the   Ukrainian  people.  All  the   Ukraine,  excepting  the 


-     21     — 

forest  regions  in  the  northwest,  had  been  completely 
devastated. 

The  Polish-Lithuanian  State  treated  the  Ukraine 
as  conquered  territory.  Being  now  dissenters  in  the  midst 
of  a  Catholic  State,  the  Ukrainian  nobles  were  limited 
in  their  prerogatives,  and  deserted  their  faith  and  their 
nationality,  in  order  to  have  a  share  in  the  "golden 
freedom"  of  Poland.  The  burgher  class  was  tyrannized 
(as  was  the  practice  all  over  Poland),  the  peasant  became 
a  serf.  The  splendid  task  of  an  ecclesiastical  union  with 
Rome  was  solved  (Florence,  143g;  Brest  1596)  in  an 
unsatisfactory  manner  and  bore  little  fruit  at  the  time. 
Every  Ukrainian  was  made  to  feel  the  Polish  govern- 
ment's iron  hand,  and  their  disaffection  expressed  itself 
in  numerous  rebellions  (Swidrygiello,  Glinskyi,  etc.). 
And  yet,  the  PoKsh-Lithuanian  State  was  far  too  weak 
to  protect  the  Ukraine  against  the  onslaughts  of  the 
Tartars.  Every  year  these  hordes  of  riders  issued  forth 
from  the  Crimea  and  pushed  their  invasions  even  as  far 
as  Galicia  and  Volhynia,  devastating  the  country  and 
depopulating  it  by  seizures  of  slaves  conducted  in  accor- 
dance with  a  systematic  plan.  The  victims  of  this  slave 
trade  filled  the  markets  of  the   Orient  for  centuries. 

It  was  inevitable  that  this  sorely  tried  nation  should 
be  forced  to  defend  itself.  And  its  efforts  were  successful 
in  that  they  led  to  the  formation  of  a  new  independent 
state,  but  unsuccessful  in  that  they  exhausted  its  resources 
and  later  had  a  tragical  autcome. 

The  constant  state  of  warfare  on  the  Tartar  bound- 
ary line  forced  the  Ukrainian  population  in  those  parts 
to  adopt  a  policy  of  continual  "Preparedness".  These 
people  of  the  marches  led  a  hard  life,  but  they  had 
access  to  the  natural  treasures  of  the  virgin  lands,  and 
the  exploiting  Polish  officials  did  not  dare  venture  forth 
into  these  dangerous  districts.  These  armed  farmers, 
hunters,  fishermen,  were  very  much  like  the  American 
backwoodsmen,  they  lived  lives  of  independence  and 
called  themselves  "cossacks",  i.  e.,  "free  warriors". 


—    22     — 

In  the  sixteenth  century  there  arose  among  these 
Ukrainian  cossacks  a  military  state  organization,  the 
center  of  which  was  a  strongly  fortified  place  below  the 
cataracts  of  the  Dnieper  (the  Saporog  Sitch).  This  Ukra- 
inian Cossack  State  was  a  democratic  republic  based  on 
absolute  liberty  and  equality.  All  authority  lay  in  the 
hands  of  the  general  assembly,  consisting  of  all  the 
fighting  men,  and  their  decisions  were  enforced  by  elective 
officers.  The  liberty  of  the  individual  was  very  great,  but 
had  to  yield  to  the  will  of  the  whole.  And  in  time  of 
war  the  chief  official,  the  Hetman,  had  unlim'ted  dicta- 
torial power. 

In  the  aristocratic  state  organization  of  Poland  there 
was  no  room  for  such  a  lawless  democratic  state  as  that 
of  the  Saporogs  was  in  Polish  eyes.  The  entire  Ukrainian 
nation  regarded  the  Saporog  cossacks  as  their  natural 
defenders  against  the  terrible  Tartar  peril,  and  likewise 
as  their  sole  hope  as  opposed  to  the  oppression  practiced 
by  the  Poles.  An  ominous  discontent  prevailed  throughout 
the  Ukraine,  and  after,  the  Poles  had  naturally  taken 
severe  measures,  a  number  of  cossack  revolts  occurred 
in  rapid  succession,  beginning  toward  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century  and  filling  the  first  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth. In  these  revolts  the  cossacks  were  supported  by 
the  oppressed  peasantry.  But  the  Polish  Kingdom  was 
rather  deficient,  always,  as  far  as  its  standing  army  was 
concerned,  and  was  obliged  to  appeal  to  the  Ukrainian 
cossack  organization,  which  it  could  not  possibly  destroy, 
to  aid  it  in  its  v/ars  against  the  Turks,  the  Russians, 
and  the   Swedes. 

Finally,  in  1648,  the  Ukrainian  cossacks,  aided  by 
the  entire  people,  from  the  Dnieper  to  the  San,  raised  the 
standard  of  rebell'.on,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Bogdan 
Chmelnyzkyi,  succeeded  in  annihilating  the  Polish  armies. 
This  victory  meant  the  establishment  of  an  independent 
Ukrainian  state  after  three  hundred  years  of  a  foreign 
yoke. 


—    23    — 

The  new  state,  surrounded  by  enemies  on  all  sides, 
needed  calm  and  quiet  to  enable  it  to  achieve  the  neces- 
sary internal  organization.  Chmelnyzkyi  negotiated  with 
all  the  surounding  governments  and  peoples,  with  the 
Poles,  the  Transylvanians,  the  Swedes,  the  Turks,  and 
finally  in  1654,  concluded  the  treaty  of  Pereyaslav,  with 
Russia,  with  which  they  were  related  by  ties  of  religion, 
This  treaty  provided  that  the  Ukraine  should  retain  a 
complete  autonomy,  as  well  as  their  cossack  organization, 
the  latter  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Czar.  The  Hetman, 
who  was  to  be  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  general  assem- 
bly, was  even  to  retain  the  right  of  conducting  an 
independent  foreign  policy. 

But  Russia  had  no  mind  to  respect  the  treaty  that 
bound  it  in  dual  alliance  with  the  warlike  Ukrainian 
nation.  The  democratic  form  of  government  in  the  U- 
kraine  was  an  abomination  to  Russian  eyes.  To  understand 
the  Russian  attitude,  we  must  rapidly  trace  its  develop- 
ment. The  young  Russian  empire  of  the  thirteenth  century 
had  also  suffered  much  from  the  Tartar  invasions,  but  it 
was  rather  remote  from  the  southern  steppes,  in  which 
the  Tartar  Khans  had  pitched  their  tents.  The  young 
Russian  state  was  therefore  not  destroyed  by  the  Tartars, 
but  simply  forced  to  pay  tribute.  The  Great  Princes  of 
Moscow  went  so  far,  finally,  as  to  solidify  their  absolute 
authority  under  the  protection  of  the  Tartar  Khans,  and 
in  1480,  when  the  strength  of  the  Tartars  was  at  a  rather 
low  ebb,  they  cast  the  Tartars  out  and  declared  them- 
selves to  be  the  Czars  of  all  the  Russias.  They  arrogated 
to  themselves  the  right  to  act  as  sole  rightful  heirs  of 
the  ancient  Empire  of  Kieff,  although  the  two  nations 
v/ere  entirely  distinct,  as  were  also  their  theories  of 
government.  While  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Empire 
of  Kieff  were  organizing  the  democratic  cossack  republic 
in  the  Ukraine,  the  tyranny  of  Ivan  the  Terrible  was 
indulging  in  its  frightful  orgies  in  Moscow,  ultimately  de- 
priving the  nobility  and  the  clergy  of  the  last  vestige  of 


—    24     — 

their   rights,   an   act   in   which   the   servile   nature   of   the 
Russian  people  fully  supported  him. 

Once  this  cossack  republic  was  under  the  control 
of  Moscow,  the  Russian  government  felt  that  no  stone 
should  be  left  unturned  to  destroy  this  dangerous  national 
organism.  Their  machinations  in  the  Ukraine  were  aided 
by  Chmelnyzkyi's  untimely  death  (1657)  and  the  incom- 
petence of  his  immediate  successors.  The  cossack  generals 
were  inspired  with  prejudice  against  the  Hetman,  the  com- 
mon cossacks  against  their  superior  officers,  and  the  com- 
mon people  against  all  yho  were  wealthy  and  in  authority. 
Huge  sums  of  money  were  spent,  and  vast  extents  of  ter- 
ritory granted  in  fief,  in  order  to  bring  about  this  desired 
end.  At  every  successive  election  of  a  new  Hetman  the 
autonomy  of  the  Ukraine  was  cut  down,  and  in  the  Peace 
of  Andrussow  (1667)  with  Poland,  the  country  was 
partitioned.  Of  the  two  sections,  one,  that  nearest  to 
Poland,  which  had  been  dreadfully  decimated  and  de- 
populated, was  ceded  to  that  country,  and  this  section 
very  soon  lost  its  Ukrainian  form  of  government  and  its 
cossack  organization.  The  section  on  the  other  side,  the 
left  side,  under  its  dashing  Hetman  Mazeppa,  made  an 
effort,  during  the  Scandinavian  War,  to  throw  off  the 
Russian  yoke.  Mazeppa  made  an  alliance  with  Charles 
XII,  King  of  Sweden.  But  the  Battle  of  Pultawa  (1709) 
buried  all  his  hopes.  Mazeppa  had  to  flee  to  Turkey  with 
Charles  XII,  and  the  Ukrainian  rebellion  was  put  down 
by  Peter  the  Great  with  the  most  frightful  atrocities,  and 
finally  the  guaranteed  autonomy  of  the  Ukraine  was 
abolished.  To  be  sure  the  title  of  Hetman  was  again 
introduced  after  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  but  it  had 
but  a  wretched  semblance  of  life.  This  shadow  of  auto- 
nomy was  destroyed  in  1764;  in  1775  the  last  bulwark 
of  the  Ukraine,  the  Saporog  Sitch,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Russians  through  treachery,  and  was  destroyed  by 
them.  The  rest  of  the  Saporogs  were  later  permitted  to 
settle  on  the  banks  of  the   Kuban  in  the  Caucasus;  the 


—    25     — 

Kuban  Cossacks  are  the  only  Russian  Cossacks  v/ho  are 
Ukrainian  in  origin, 

Russia  thus  succeeded,  in  the  course  of  about  a 
century  and  a  half,  in  completely  v^iping  out  the  later, 
second,  Ukrainian  state.  The  devious  policy  Russia  was 
simultaneously  carrying  on  in  Poland  led  also  to  the 
latter's  dov/nfall.  In  the  successive  partitions  of  Poland 
(1772— 1795),  the  entire  part  of  that  nation  v/hich  was 
inhabited  by  Ukrainians,  with  the  exception  of  Eastern 
Galicia  and  the  Bukowina,  which  fell  to  Austria,  became 
the  property  of  Russia. 

But  Russia  was  not  satisfied  with  political  domination 
alone.    Russia  already  understood,  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, that  the  Ukrainians  differed  entirely  from  the  Rus- 
sians in  language,  customs,  and  views  of  life.  The  Russian 
government    therefore    inaugurated    a    policy    of    rigid    re- 
pression   of    all    these    points    of    difference.    As    early    as 
1680,  it  prohibited  any  use  of  the  Ukrainian  language  in 
ecclesiastical   literature.    In    1720,   the   printing   of   any   U- 
kralnian  books  at  all  was  forbidden.  All  Ukrainian  schools 
were    closed.    In    the    middle    of    the    eighteenth    century 
there  were  in  the  province  of  Chernigov,  866  schools  that 
had  been  founded   during   the   period   of   Ukrainian   auto- 
nomy. Sixty  years  later,  not  one  of  these  was  in  existence. 
This,  together  with  the  attempt  to  introduce  the  Russian 
language  v/hich  none  of  them   understands,   is  the   cause 
of    the    overv/helming    percentage    of    analphabets    among 
the    Ukrainians,    The    Ukrainian    orthodox    church,    which 
enjoyed  absolute  autonomy,  with  a  sort  of  loose  subordina- 
tion to  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  was  made  subject 
to   the   Patriarch   of   Moscow,   later   to   the   Holy    Synod, 
and  became  completely  russified.     The  Greek-United  faith, 
which  had  many  adherents  in  the  Western  Ukraine,  was 
completely   suppressed   by   the    Russian   government,    and 
all    v/ho    professed    it   were    obliged,    by    the    most    awful 
persecutions,    to    "return"    to    the    orthodox    belief.      The 
Ukrainian    people    became     completely     estranged     from 
their  former  national  church,  v/hich  now  is  a  tool  wielded 


—    26    — 

for  purposes  of  russification,  and  consequently  a  new  sect 

—  the  so-called  S  t  u  n  d  a,  a  sort  of  Baptist  denomination 

—  made  great  progress  in  the  Ukraine. 

But  the  russification  of  the  Ukraine  seemed  to  be 
making  very  little  headway.  To  be  sure  many  educated 
Ukrainians,  for  the  sake  of  their  own  personal  advantage, 
or  for  other  considerations,  did  renounce  their  nationality; 
in  fact  some,  like  Gogol,  became  great  lights  in  Russian 
literature.  Yet  there  always  remained  the  feeling  of  na- 
tional independence,  together  with  a  living  historical  tra- 
dition. As  early  as  1791,  Kapnist,  an  emissary  of  the  U- 
kraine,  endeavored  to  move  the  Prussian  government  to 
make  war  on  Russia,  in  order  to  reestablish  the  autonomy 
of  the  Ukraine.  And  when,  after  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  Ukrainian  literature  began  to  flourish, 
the  movement  attracted  some  attention.  The  watchful 
Russian  government  began  to  take  repressive  measures. 
The  Ukrainian  Secret  Society  in  KiefT  was  discovered 
in  1847  and  its  members  banished.  The  poet  Shevchenko 
was  sent  to  Asiatic  Russia  in  penal  convoys  and  there 
tortured  almost  to  death.  And  as  the  Ukrainian  move- 
ment continued  spreading  in  spite  of  everything,  there 
was  issued  the  above-mentioned  ukase  of  1876,  which 
seemed  likely  to  give  the  movement  its  final  quietus. 

But  not  even  this  unprecedented  measure  was  able 
to  stop  the  spread  of  the  idea.  The  literary  and  scholarly 
phases  of  the  movement  were  transplanted  to  Galicia, 
and  the  youth  of  the  Ukraine  filled  the  ranks  of  Russian 
nihilists  and  revolutionaries.  Laboring  under  the  delusion 
that  the  liberation  of  the  Ukraine  would  be  best  attained 
by  freeing  all  of  Russia  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Czar, 
the  young  men  of  the  land  sacrificed  all  their  strength 
for  the  general  revolutionary  tendencies  of  Russia.  Only 
after  the  Russian  Revolution  of  1905  did  their  views 
become  clarified,  and  then  rather  powerful  progressive 
national  Ukrainian  parties  were  formed,  whose  activities 
had  of  course  to  remain  subterranean.  Their  object  is  a 
free  Ukraine,  established  on  democratic  principles.  There 


—     27     — 

is  also  a  moderate  independence  party,  but  the  great 
mass  of  the  educated  classes  in  the  Ukraine  has  until 
very  recently  stood  for  the  principle  of  an  autonomous 
Ukraine  within  the  frame  of  the  Russian  Empire.  Whether 
this  moderation  has  been  caused  by  existing  conditions, 
that  is,  by  the  constant,  absolute,  and  ruthless  pressure 
of  the  Russian  government,  it  would  of  course  be  im- 
possible to  ascertain  at  this  moment.  In  recent  years  the 
"autonomists"  have  dv/indled  considerably  as  compared 
with  the  Independence  Party.  All  that  the  Russian  U- 
krainians  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  is  the  fact  that  the 
Ukase  of  1S76  is  now  no  longer  in  actual  enforcement 
(since  1905),  although  the  Russian  government  is 
nevertheless  doing  everything  in  its  power  to  obstruct 
the  development  of  Ukrainian  literature  and  culture.  The 
Ukrainian  language  continues  to  be  prohibited  for  official 
and  school  purposes. 

We  must  still  devote  some  attention  to  the  history 
of  the  Ukrainians  in  Austria-Hungary.  Incorporation 
with  Austria  was  an  epoch-making  event  in  the  evolution 
of  the  Ukrainian  national  movement,  although  only  a 
very  small  strip  of  Ukrainian  territory  has  enjoyed  the 
advantage  of  this  great  piece  of  good  fortune.  For  the 
first  time  in  half  a  millenium  the  Ukrainians  once  more 
began  to  feel  what  it  meant  to  have  human  rights  and 
to  be  on  equal  terms  with  other  races.  The  love  which 
the  Galician  Ukrainians  bear  for  Austria  was  magnificently 
evidenced  in  1848,  and  since  then  they  have  been  known 
by  the  honoring  epithet  of  "the  Tyrolese  of  the  East".  The 
Constitutional  Era  was  greeted  with  delight  by  the 
Austrian  Ukrainians.  But  its  first  fruits  were  very  dis- 
appointing. Under  a  constitutional  government  it  was 
impossible  for  a  people  like  the  Ukrainians,  who,  owing 
to  five  centuries  of  Polish  domination,  consisted  merely 
of  peasants  and  a  small  handful  of  cultured  persons,  to 
offer  any  resistance  to  the  Polish  element  of  the  popu- 
lation, which  possessed  a  very  numerous  aristocracy,,  a 
wealthy  nobility,   a   middle   class    (even  though   it  was   a 


—     28    — 

small  one),  in  short,  a  powerful  caste  of  officials.  In 
addition,  the  Ukrainians  v/ere  very  universally  dis- 
criminated against,  and  entirely  lost  their  influence  in 
the  administration  of  the  country,  in  school  matters,  in 
the  Parliament,  as  well  as  in  the  Landtag. 

By  thus  holding  down  the  Ukrainians,  the  ground 
was  cleared  for  the  Pro-Russian  activities  in  Galicia. 
Russia  has  never  lost  sight  of  the  little  bit  of  "Russian" 
soil  vvhxh  had  become  Austria's.  The  first  attempts  to 
sow  Panslavic-Russophile  notions  in  Eastern  Galicia, 
proved  failures.  But  beginning  v/ith  the  sixties  of  the 
last  centur}',  Pro-Russianism  began  spreading  among  the 
intelligent  classes  of  the  Ruthenians,  chiefly  as  a  reaction 
against  Polish  oppression.  This  tendency  was  widespread, 
but  not  profound,  and  was  chiefly  a  matter  of  catchwords, 
such  as  "the  unity  of  the  Russian  nation,  from,  the  Car- 
pathians to  Kamtchatka",  of  introducing  Old  Slavonic 
as  well  as  Russian  words  into  the  literary  language,  and 
an  adherence  with  stolid  rigidity  to  the  ancient,  im- 
practical, "thousand-year-cld"  orthography,  etc.,  etc.  On 
such  ideological  foudations  a  Russophiie  Party  arose,  but 
of  course  it  never  attained  any  serious  political  importance. 

The  Russophiie  Party  completely  proved  its  in- 
significance in  the  following  decades.  The  rise  of  a  U- 
krainlan  literature  based  on  purity  of  the  popular  idion 
found  a  ready  echo  in  Galicia  and  in  the  Bukowina.  The 
Ukrainian  national  consciousness  was  awakened  to 
vigorous  life  among  the  Austrian  Ukrainians,  and  from 
being  a  mere  handful  of  young  enthusiasts,  the  Ukrainian 
National  Party  was  already  an  important  one  by  the 
end  of  the  sixties.  It  at  once  entered  into  combat  with 
the  Russophiles  and  carried  away  with  it  more  and  more 
of  the  great  mass  of  those  who  at  first  were  indifferent. 
This  National  Party,  in  the  nineties  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  already  had  possession  of  the  entire  cultural  and 
economic  Tie  of  the  Galician  and  Bukovinian  Ukrainians, 
the  Russophiles  retaining  their  importance  only  in  the 
political  field,  an  importance  which  they  owed  in  part  to 


—    29     — 

pecuniary  subsidies  of  Russian  origin,  in  part  to  the  pro- 
tection of  powerful  Polish  politicians,  to  whom  the  growth 
of  the  Ukrainian  national  consciousness  in  Eastern  Galicia 
seemed  far  more  dangerous  than  a  "tame",  "harmless" 
Russophilism,  which  presented  no  new  language  difficult- 
ies, and  asked  for  no  schools,  gymnasia,  or  universities. 

The  danger  which  the  Ukrainian  movement  involved 
for  Russia,  forced  the  latter  country  to  take  active  steps. 
Since  the  nineties  of  the  nineteenth  century,  vast  sums 
of  money  have  been  pouring  into  Galicia,  in  order  to 
halt  the  dissolution  of  the  Russophlle  Party.  This  money 
was  spent  for  printing  russophile  newspapers  and  pamph- 
lets, thousands  of  copies  of  which  were  circulated  free 
among  the  common  people,  and  for  establishing  educa- 
tional institutions,  in  which  the  studious  sons  of  the 
peasantry  were  trained  into  violent  agitators  and  partisans 
of  the  russophile  movement.  When  the  first  elections  to 
the  Reichsrat  in  accordance  with  the  universal  suffrage 
v/ere  held,  In  1907,  in  spite  of  great  Russian  subsidies, 
they  resulted  in  a  decisive  defeat  of  the  Russophiles  and 
a  brilliant  victory  of  the  Ukrainians;  naturally  the  ex- 
ertions made  by  the  Russian  government  were  even 
further  stimulated.  The  systematic  manner  in  which  the 
russophile  agitation  was  carried  on  is  evident  from  the 
history  of  the  first  few  days  of  the  present  war:  rus- 
sophile agitation  had  been  most  active  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Galicia,  in  the  country  around  Brody, 
Lemberg,  and  Sokal,  and  there  the  progress  of  the  Russian 
armies    v/as    comparatively    easy. 

After  1907  the  Russophiles  adopted  a  new  pose, 
declaring  themselves  to  be  "Galician  Russians",  although 
there  are  very  few  persons  in  the  whole  party  who  even 
know  the  Russian  language.  The  party  consists  today  of 
a  number  of  lawyers  and  government  officials,  very  many 
priests,  those  who  are  provided  with  the  most  lucrative 
livings,  which  have  been  thrown  into  their  laps  by  the 
great  landed  proprietors  whose  favorites  they  may  happen 
to   be,   a   number   of   young   men   educated    in   russophile 


—     30     — 

institutions,  and  several  tens  of  thousands  of  deluded 
peasants.  The  latter  cherish  the  false  belief  that  the 
Great  White  Czar  speaks  the  same  language  as  they  do, 
is  a  member  of  the  same  religious  faith,  and  is  only 
waiting  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  free  them  from 
the  oppression  of  Poles  and  Jews.  The  hatred  the  Rus- 
sophiles  bear  the  Ukrainians  is  a  blind  and  senseless 
one ;  at  every  election  they  vote  for  the  Polish  candidates 
merely  in  order  to  harm  the  Ukrainians,  disperse  Ukrai- 
nian meetings,  and  boycott  everything  that  is  Ukrainian, 
whenever  an  opportunity  offers.  And  the  immunity  from 
punishment  on  which  they  may  safely  count,  redoubles 
their  activities  along  these  lines. 

But  even  this  latest  onslaught  of  Russophilism  has 
not  been  able  to  do  lasting  damage  to  the  Ukrainian 
cause  in  Austria.  On  the  contrary,  it  resulted  in  a  com- 
plete ostracism  of  the  Russophiles,  who  were  considered 
adherents  of  a  hostile  foreign  nation,  an  ostracism  that 
has  led  even  to  the  dissolving  of  ties  of  family  and 
relationship,  and  this  fact  has  given  a  wondrous  strength 
to  the  Ukrainian  movement.  In  noble  emulation  all  the 
Ukrainian  political  parties  —  the  National  Democratic, 
the  Radical,  and  the  Social  Democratic  —  worked  together 
for  the  realization  of  their  national  ideals.  To  uplift  the 
country  people,  great  cooperative  organizations  were 
founded  and  developed;  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  Ukrai- 
nian cultured  classes,  private  schools  and  private  gym- 
nasia were  established,  and  a  great  fight  was  carried  on 
for  years  for  the  establishment  of  a  Ukrainian  university 
in  Lemberg,  —  unfortunately  without  success.  Simul- 
taneously the  horizons  of  their  political  ambitions  began 
to  widen.  The  Ukrainians  were  in  the  first  ranks  in  the 
struggle  for  the  granting  of  universal  suffrage ;  now  the 
watchword  of  all  parties  is  national  autonomy.  The 
ideal  of  all  parties  now  is  a  free  Ukraine, 
bounded  by  true  ethnographic  lines.  To 
realize  this  ideal,  they  founded  Societies  of  Marksmen 
(Schützenvereine)    and    Gymnasts    (Turnvereine),    which 


—    31     — 

have  grown  very  rapidly  in  spite  of  the  financial  weakness 
of  the  Ukrainians.  The  road  they  must  travel  to  attain 
their  goal  is  clearly  defined.  The  Ukrainians  are 
the  only  European  people  who  will  be 
directly  benefited  by  a  defeat  and  ex- 
haustion of  Russia.  Free  Ukraine  can  only  be 
the  outcome  of  a  combat  with  Russia.  Even  the  un- 
trammeled  development  of  the  Ukrainian  people,  aside 
from  their  national  aspirations,  can  only  proceed  outside 
of  the  limits   of   Russian  jurisdiction. 


VII.  CULTURE. 

When  we  speak  of  culture  as  a  distinguishing 
mark  of  a  specific  nation,  we  mean,  of  course,  not  culture 
in  the  widest  sence  of  the  word,  but  those  well  known 
cultural  peculiarities  which  characterize  every  European 
nation. 

The  Ukraine  lies  wholly  within  the  confines  of  the 
greater  European  cultural  community.  But  its  great 
distance  from  the  great  culture-centres  of  Western  and 
Central  Europe  has  of  course  not  been  without  effect, 
profound  effect.  The  Ukraine  is  at  a  low  stage  of  culture 
and  must   be   measured  by   Eastern   European   standards. 

The  culture  of  the  Ukrainian  peasantry  is  an  ex- 
tremely ancient  culture  of  a  purely  agricultural  people. 
Ancient,  even  Pre-Christian  cultural  elements  are  at  its 
base ;  their  ancient  pagan  Weltanschauung  had 
to  accomodate  itself  to  Greek  Christianity,  when  they 
accepted  the  latter.  Byzantine  elements  of  considerable 
importance  must  also  be  borne  in  mind,  and  of  course 
something  must  have  percolated  through  from  Western 
Europe.  This  is  the  blend  from  which  the  socalled  ethno- 
logical culture  of  the  Ukrainian  peasantry  sprang.  It  is 
on  an  incomparably  higher  plane  than  Russian  folk 
culture  and  has  managed  to  assimilate,  Ukrainianize,  if 
one  may  say  so,  great  bodies  of  foreign  peasant  settlers 


—     32    — 

in  the  Ukraine.  The  higher  degree  of  culture  of  the  U- 
krainian  peasant  has  protected  him  from  russification  in 
his  Asiatic  colonies,  even  on  the  borders  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  character  of  the  settlements,  buildings, 
costumes,  and  mode  of  life,  of  the  Ukrainian  country 
people  is  such  as  to  indicate  a  perfect  adaptation  to  the 
conditions  of  agricultural  life,  which  places  them  on  a 
far  higher  plane  than  the  Russian  peasantry.  It  is  hardly 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Ukrainian  peasants  do  not 
intermarry  with  the  Russian;  in  fact,  they  hardly  ever 
will  consent  to  live  in  the  same  village  with  them.  A 
still  deeper  chasm  is  formed  between  them  by  their 
spiritual  culture,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  Ukrainians, 
in  the  wealth  of  their  vast  oral  traditionary  literature, 
bears  excellent  witness  to  their  depth  of  artistic  feeling. 
The  philosophical  and  esthetic  Lebensanschauung 
of  these  illiterate  peasants  finds  expression  in  thousands 
and  thousands  of  pregnant  proverbs  and  parables;  their 
bloody  but  glorious  past  is  celebrated  in  numberless  epic 
poems;  an  incomparable  variety  of  artistically  perfect 
lyrics  of  love  and  religion  beautifies  their  daily  life.  If 
thousands  of  these  products  of  popular  genius  had  not 
been  collected  —  and  these  are  daily  supplemented  by 
the  appearance  of  new  ones  never  known  before  —  no  one 
would  believe  that  in  this  neglected  race,  oppressed  for 
tens  of  centuries,  such  pearls  of  true  poetic  inspiration 
could  be  born.  Their  rich  ethnological  life  (manners  and 
customs),  their  highly  developed  popular  music  and 
popular  art  (particularly  ornamentation),  their  tolerant, 
profound  religious  feeling,  so  indifferent  to  mere  externals, 
a  pronounced  individualism  in  family  life,  a  higher  position 
for  women,  and  great  power  of  collective  activity  when 
on  terms  of  absolute  equality  —  these  are  the  things 
that  distinguish  the  Ukrainian  peasant,  and  much  to  his 
advantage,  from  his  Russian  neighbor.  There  is  therefore 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  gifted  Ukrainian  people 
present  an  admirable  basis  for  a  great  future  flowering 
of  culture;  the  fact  that  they  at  present  occupy  a  rather 


—     33     — 

low  stage  of  culture,  cannot  be  a  source  of  surprise  to 
anyone.  We  know,  for  instance,  what  a  disastrous  effect 
the  Thirty  Years'  War  had  on  Germany.  And  the  U- 
krainian  people  had  five  hundred  years  of  the  Tartars. 

On  the  broad  basis  of  a  popular  culture  the  Ukrai- 
nian intellectuals  have  nov/  been  developing  their  gifts 
for  a  century.  Long  they  vaccillated  between  Polish 
and  Russian  cultural  influences,  but  finally  they  had  the 
energy  to  strike  out  in  independent  I'.nes,  in  order  to  lead 
the  Ukrainian  nation  into  the  full  blossom  of  civilization, 
with  the  aid  of  cultural  influences  from  Western  Europe. 


VIII.  THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  UKRAINE. 

We  have  nov/  to  consider  the  last  and  most  im- 
portant matter  in  connection  with  the  Ukrainians, 
namely,  a  description  of  their  country.  Or,  more  pro- 
perly, we  are  returning  to  this  subject,  for  the  size  and 
territorial  boundaries  have  already  been  discussed  in 
Section  II. 

Of  course  no  one  will  expect  to  find,  in  Eastern 
Europe,  a  country  with  boundary  lines  as  distinct  and 
final  as  are  those  of  Spain,  France  or  Italy.  The  Ukrai- 
nian boundaries,  with  the  exception  of  the  swamps  on 
the  north,  are  open,  yet  the  country  has  distinct  charac- 
teristics that  enable  us  to  classify  it  as  one  of  the  clear- 
cut  national  outlines  of  Europe,  and  it  has  them  to  a 
more  marked  degree  than  have  the  other  territorial  units  of 
Eastern  Europe.  Such  national  distinguishing  marks  are: 
the  Ukraine  is  a  broad  hinterland  of  the  Black  Sea;  it 
has  a  uniform  series  of  table-lands  extending  all  the  way 
from  the  Vistula  to  the  Don;  in  the  Pontus  a  highly 
intricate  system  of  rivers  and  deltas;  a  peculiar  climiate, 
which  led  the  famous  French  geographer  E.  de  Martonne 
to  set  ujo  the  climat  oukrainien  as  a  descriptive 
epithet;  a  great  variety  of  plant  and  animal  life;  a  popula- 
tion that  is  racially  homogeneous. 


—     34     — 

Yet  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  write  a  geography  of 
the  Ukraine.  It  is  our  object  merely  to  indicate  the 
great    importance    of    this    country. 

Its  most  important  strategic  quality  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  is  situated  at  the  threshold  of  Western  and  Central 
Asia.  Russia's  access  to  the  Black  Sea  depends  on  her 
possession  of  the  Ukraine.  Of  all  Russia's  exports, 
70%  by  weight  or  65 7c  by  value,  go  by  way  of  the  Black 
Sea.  Of  all  Russia's  commercial  steam  vessels,  42 7c  of 
the  number  or  52%  of  the  tonnage  are  engaged  in  the 
Black  Sea  trade.  The  tonnage  of  the  river  steamers 
navigating  the  Dmeper,  is  alone  as  large  as  the  entire 
commercial  tonnage  of  Austria-Hungary.  It  is  only  her 
possession  of  the  Ukraine  that  enables  Russia  to  cast 
envious  eyes  on  the  Balkans  and  the  Straits,  and  to 
threaten  the  security  of  Turkey  and  of  the  Mediterranean. 
It  is  only  through  the  Ukraine  that  Russian  can  control 
the  lands  of  the  Caucasus,  oppress  the  Persians,  and  seek 
a  short  cut  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  It  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  the  Ukraine  is  in  the  path  of  the  shortest 
land  route  from  Central  Europe  to  the  East  Indies,  and 
that  it  includes  a  goodly  portion  of  the  way  thither. 
This  fact  may  have  tremendous  importance  even  in  the 
immediate   future. 

The  situation  of  the  Ukraine  is  not  more  significant 
than  the  volume  of  her  natural  resources.  The 
extremely  fruitful  black  humus  covers  three-fourths  of 
the  surface  of  the  country,  and  the  healthy,  yet  conti- 
nental climate  is  very  favorable  to  agriculture  and  cattle- 
raising.  In  the  following  account  we  shall  begin  with  the 
simpler  and  more  aboriginal  modes  of  economic  life. 

In  addition  to  a  large  annual  amount  of  game,  the 
sea  fisheries  in  the  Black  Sea  and  in  the  Sea  of  Azov 
yield  24,500,000  kg  of  fish  every  year.  Fresh  water  fishing 
is  also  very  profitable. 

The  Ukraine  has  1 10.000  sq,  km.  of  exploitable  forest 
lands. 


—     35     — 

Farming  land  in  the  Ukraine  amounts  to  more  than 
45,000.000  ha,  or  32%  of  all  the  farm  land  of  European 
Russia,  while  the  total  area  of  the  Ukraine  is  to  that  of 
Russia  as  1:6,  Of  the  total  area  of  the  Ukraine,  53%' 
is  farmed;  in  Europe  only  France  has  a  higher  per- 
centage (567c).  The  annual  production  of  the  Ukraine 
in  wheat,  rye  and  barley  alone,  in  spite  of  very  primitive 
methods  of  exploitation,  amounts  to  150,000,000  q*  an- 
nually, or  one-third  of  Russia's  output.  Other  farm 
products  are  just  as  generously  abundant.  The  sugar  beet 
production  of  the  Ukraine  is  five-sixths  that  of  all  Russia. 
Of  tobacco  the  Ukraine  produces  over  700,000  q  a  year. 
It  possesses  the  largest  and  finest  orchards  and  vineyards 
of  Russia. 

As  to  stock  raising;  the  Ukraine  has  30,000,000 
head  of  cattle,  one-third  of  all  European  Russia's;  sheep, 
goats,  pigs  and  poultry  are  very  numerous,  in  fact,  in 
this  matter  the  Ukraine  has  50%  of  Russia's  supply. 

These  figures  show  the  immense  importance  of  the 
Ukraine  as  the  grain  and  meat  producer  of  Russia.  And  it 
is  also  true  that  the  mineral  resources  of  the  country 
play  an  important  part  in  the  economic  life  of  the  Rus- 
sian Empire.  Iron,  chiefly  in  the  government  of  Cherson, 
in  the  year  of  revolution,  1905,  was  turned  out  to  the 
amount  of  31,000,000  q,  or  60 7c  of  the  total  output  of 
the  entire  Russian  Empire;  in  1905  this  percentage  had 
been  over  69.  Of  manganese  the  Ukraine  furnishes  one- 
sixth  the  world's  production,  or  327p  of  Russia's  pro- 
duction. No  other  mercury  is  produced  in  Russia  except 
the  Ukrainian  (320,000  kg  in  1905),  The  coal  deposits  on 
the  Donetz  (23,000  sq.  km.)  produced  130,000,000  q  hard 
coal  in  1905,  or  757c  of  the  total  production  of  European 
and  Asiatic  Russia;  of  anthracite  coal,  99%  of  Russia's 
output  is  from  the  Ukraine.  Space  forbids  us  to  discuss 
the  other  forms  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  Ukraine, 
such  as  petroleum,  ozocerite,  peat,  phosphorite,  kaolin,  etc. 

•    1  q  (100  kg.)   =   1  metric  quintal     ~-  220.46  lb. 


—     36     — 

Factory  industries  have  already  reached  a  fair  stage 
of  development  in  the  Ukraine. 

Of  pig  iron,  17,000,000  q  were  made  in  1905  (62%' 
of  Russia's  production);  of  steel,  13,000,000  q  (58%); 
crude  sugar  (So^c);  refined  sugar  (59%),  etc.  How 
important  the  Ukrainan  grain  output  is  for  the  world's 
grain  trade,  is  evident  from  the  figures  given  above. 

Now  what  is  the  significance  of  all  these  figures? 
They  show  that  vv^e  may  just  as  well  throw  all  our  pre- 
conceived notions  concerning  the  geography  of  Eastern 
Europe  into  our  intellectual  scrap  heap.  We  were  taught 
to  believe  that  the  unity  of  Russia  was  the  result  of  geo- 
graphical conditions,  that  the  grain-rich  south  needed 
the  industrial  central  section  and  vice  versa.  One 
has  only  to  consider  the  above  data,  to  understand  the 
falsehood  of  that  statement.  We  believe  the  above  figures 
show,  not  only  that  the  Ukraine  has  nothing  to  gain  from 
its  subordination  to  Russia,  but  on  the  contrary,  that  it 
loses  by  being  obliged  to  maintain  out  of  its  abundance 
the  really  Russian  provinces,  which  are  very  poor,  and 
whose  industry  it  must  patronize.  The  Ukraine  does  not 
need  Russia,  but  Russia  needs  the  Ukraine  very  much. 

At  the  end  of  our  little  book  we  may  safely  express 
the  belief  that: 

Russia  has  become  what  she  is  owing 
to  her  possession  of  the  Ukraine;  the  over- 
whelming predominnance  of  Russia  in  Eu- 
rope can  only  be  broken  by  separating  the 
Ukraine  from  its  connection  with  the  Rus- 
sia n  S  t  a  t  e. 

Vienna,   September  9,    19 14. 


LITERATURE  ON  THE  UKRAINIAN  QUESTION. 


[Most  of  these  books  are  to  be  obtained  in  the  New  York  Public  Librarj'.J 


ENGLISH. 

filisee    Reclus :   Universal    Geography.     Vol,   I.    pp.   269 — 

317;  379—384. 
Prof.  Alfred  Rambaud :  History  of  Russia.  Vol.  I,  chapters 

XX,  XXI,  XXII.  London  1879. 
N.  Bilashevsky :  Peasant  Art  in  the  Ukraine.  "The  Studio", 

Special  Autumn  Number.    London   1912. 
Steveni,  W.  Barnes :  Things  seen  in  Russia.     Cap.  Little 

Russia,  the  Blessed.  Button  &  Co.  New  York  1913. 
G,   Sands:   Ukraine.    Francis   Griffiths,  34,    Maiden   Lane, 

Strand,    London,    1914. 
Yaroslav    Fedortchouk:    Memorandum    on    the    Ukrainian 

Question   in   its    National    Aspect.      Francis    Griffiths.. 

London.    1914. 

FRENCH. 

£lisee    Rechis:   Geographie   Universelle.    V,   pp.   442 — 558. 

Les  Annales  des  nationalites.     Bulletin  de  I'Lnion  des. 

nationalites.      Numeros    consacres    a    I'etude    de    1'    U- 

kraine.  41,  Boulevard  des  Batif^nolles,  Paris. 
R.   Sembratovycz :   Le   Tsarlsme   et  1'   Ukraine.      Paris. 
Prof.  M.  Hrushevsky :  Le  Probleme  de  1'  Ukraine.  Revue- 

politique  internationale,   1914,  pp.  289 — 328.   Lausanne 

1914. 
Maurice  Lair :  En  Galicie,  Noblesse  Polonaise  et  Paysans 

Ruthenes.  B.  Annales  des  sei.  polit.  v.  18.  p.  554 — 572, 

702 — 717;  V.  19.  p.  185.  Paris  1903 — 1904. 

—     I     — 


—    II   — 

GERMAN. 

Ludwig  Kulczycki :  Geschichte  der  russischen  Revolution. 
Verlag  Friedrich  Andreas  Perthes  S.-G.  Gotha  1910 — 
1914.  Erster  Teil.  Siebentes  Kapitel.  VII.  Zweiter 
Teil.  Drittes  Kapitel.  V.  Zweiter  Teil.  Fuenftes 
Kapitel.   III.   Dritter  Teil.   Siebentes   Kapitel.   XXIV. 

Heimelt:  Weltgeschichte.  Band  5.  Abteilung:  Besonders 
pp.  538 — 549.  Bibliographisches  Inst.  Leipzig  und 
Wien    1915. 

Brockhaus'  Konversations-lexikon.  1902.  Band  X.  Klein- 
russen. Kleinrussische   Litteratur. 

Russen  ueber  Russland.  Ein  Sammelwerk.  Litterarische 
Anstalt :  Ruetten  und  Loening,  Frankfurt  am  Main 
1906.     Cap.   "Die    Kleinrussen". 

Prof.    Otto    Hoetzsch :    Russland.      Cap.    Die    Ukrainische 

Frage.     Georg  Reimers  Verlag,   Berlin    1913. 
B.   Yaworskyj :   Das   Urteil   der  europaeischen   Kulturwelt 

ueber   den   Ukas   von    1876.      (Durch   welchen   die   u- 

krainische    Litteratur    im    russischen    Reiche    verboten 

wurde).  Wien  1905. 
Kuschnir    und     Popowytsch :    Taras     Schewtschenko,    der 

groesste  Dichter  der  Ukraine.  Wien  1914. 
R.  Sembratowycz :    Das    Zarentum    im    Kampfe    mit    der 

Zivilisation.    Frankfurt   1905. 
Romanczuk :  Die  Ruthenen  und  ihre  Gegner  in  Galizien. 

Wien  1902. 
Sozialistische  Monatshefte.     Stuttgart  1908,  Heft  10. 
Karl  Leuthner:  Das  Ende  der  polnischen  Staatsidee.    (Der 

Verfasser   meint   ein    polnischer    Staat,    der   auch    Li- 

thauen,  Bjelo-Rus'  und  Ukraine  inbegriffe,  laesse  sich 

nicht  mehr  denken).   Der   Kampf,   Wien,    1914   Nr.    i 

Otto  Bauer. 
Dr.     Stephan     Rudnyzky :      Ukraine     und    die     Ukrainer. 

Druck:   "Vorwaerts".   Wien  V.   Rechte   Wollzeile  97. 

Wien    1914. 


—   Ill    — 

George  Cleinow :  Das  Problem  der  Ukralna.  Die  Grenz- 
boten (nr.  45).  Zeitschrift  füer  Politik,  Lit.  und 
Kunst  1914,  II.  November.  Berlin  S.  W.  11.  Tem- 
pelhofer  Ufer  35  a. 

SWEDISH. 

Prof.  Harald  Hjaerne :  Oestanifran.  Cap.  Den  lillryska 
nationalitetsroerelsens  Ursprung  (1879).  Hugo  Ge- 
bers foerlag,  Stockholm  1905. 

Prof.  Gustaf  Steffen:  Krig  och  kultur.  Gap.  HI.  9,  10. 
Albert  Bonniers  foerlag.  Stockholm   19 14. 

Alfred  Jensen :  Ukrajnas  nationalskad.  Finsk  Tidskrift 
H.  V.  T.   LXn.     Helsingfors. 

NORWEGIAN. 

Bjoernstjerne  Bjoernson :  Artikler  och  taler,  B.  II.  Utgivet 
Chr.   Collin.     Christiania    1913. 

RUSSIAN. 

IIpo^.  M.  rpyineBCKift  :  HjUnocTpHpoBaHHaa  ncropin  YKpa- 
HHLi.     HsA-    "npocBimenie".     C.    nexepöypr-L,    1913. 

M.  ^paroMaHOBi> :  Coöpanie  no;iHTHHecKHXT>  coHHHeHiH. 
ToMt  I.  I.  IIcTopHiecKaa  Uoji&ma  h  BejiHKopyccKan  ;i;e- 
MOKpaxin.  2.  Onuxi,  yKpanHCKOä  nojiHTHKO-coi];iH;ri,HOÄ 
nporpaMMM.  Societe  nouvelle  de  librairie  et  d'edition, 
Paris,    1905. 

MaxaHj-B  IlexpoBHHi.  ^paroManoB-t :  Coöpanie  no;iHTHie- 
CKHXT,  coHHHeHifi.  Socictc  nouvelle  de  librairie  et 
d'edition,  1905. 

POLISH. 

Leon  Wasilewski :  Ukraina  i  sprawa  ukrainska.  Wydaw- 
nictv^o   "Ksi^zka",   Krakov^    191 1. 

Ludwig  Kulczycki:  Kwestya  Polsko-Ruska.    1912  (1913). 


—     IV     — 

WacJaw  Lipinski :  Z  dziejow  Ukrainy.  Ksiyga  pamiatkowa 
ku  czci  Wlodzimierza  Antonowicza,  Paulina  Swi^cic- 
kiego  i  Tadeusza  Rylskiego,  wydana  staraniem  dr.  J. 
Jiirkiewicza,  Fr.  Wolskiej,  Ludw.  Siedleckiego  i  Wa- 
cJawa  Lipinskiego.  Krakow,  1913.  Ksi^g.  D.  E.  Fried- 
leina. 

Wadaw  Lipinski:  Szlachta  na  Ukrainie,  Udzial  jej  w  zy- 
ciu  narodu  na  tie  jego  dziejow.  Krakow,  1909. 


Pressburg   .  o  -  »  >  Wr,\  -  -  -^"""^   +     +     ^  ■'^J*%.\+  *  XT  *  *Kis)i)nev  ^  ^ 

■     ^       ,,>o<  =  -•'"'  °/j\  Debreczen7.    +    +    ykj^«^       \*     oXr   +  u     =^, 


BLACK        SEA 


y   r^ea  of 


Marmara 


-  Jk  W  Racial  &  National  Boundaries 
^^VL<?  in 

CENTRAL  EUROPE 


I       I 
[v3sn3 


L.  Northern  Slavi 


Pole» 

Czecha  &  Slouaha 


b.  Southern  Slavs       J  Cmata  ^  £ 


4.  Letts  &  Lithuaniai^s 

5.  Ural-Altaic  stock        i 

6.  Greeks - 

.  7.  Albanians.        

Natlonaf  Boundariet .  »»■ 


^^^^^^^ 


Facial  Boundaries 


the  Balkans  would  necessitate  trei 
the  scope  of  the  Round  Table  pern 
Some  of  the  racial  boundaries  In  the  Balkans  are  of  necessity  s 


n  uiew  of  recent 
0  help  the  render's  eyr,  the  Teutonic  districts  haue  tu 
while  the  Slavonic  districts  are  shaded  by  sloping  l\ 


No^e. 


EUROPEAN    RUSSIA.  Distribution  of  Soils 


No^B.  The  clayeu  A 
Sandy  SoUlof 
Me  SouthcrnSti 


C/3 

JO 

-^ 

o 

Q 

< 

ÜJ 

c 

Dl 

o 

^ 

- 

^  :3 

I 


AL  LIBRARi  FACILITY 


A     000  116  487 


THE  UKRAINIAN  PERIODICAL 
PUBLICATIONS    IN    FOREIGN   LANGUAGES: 


IN  FRENCH: 

L'  UKRAINE,  Edition,  publice  par  V.  Stepankovsky. 
Adresse  de  la  Redaction  de  "L'Ukraine":  Imprimeries 
Reunies,  S.  A.  Avenue  de  la  Gare,  23,  Lausanne, 
Suisse. 

LA  REVUE  UKRANIENNE,  Mensuel  edite  par  Arthur 
Seelieb,  Lausanne,  Suisse,  Mornex,  17. 

IN  GERMAN : 

UKRAINISCHE  RUNDSCHAU,  Monatsschrift  für  Poli- 
tik. XIII.  Jahrgang. — Herausgeber  und  Redakteur  Dr. 
Wladimir  Kuschnir. — Wien  XVIII.,  Gersthoferstrasse 
68. 

UKRAINISCHES  KORRESPONDENZBLATT. 

Erscheint  jeden  Donnerstag.     Wien,  VIII.  Josefstäd- 
terstrasse 43 — 45. 

UKRAINISCHE  NACHRICHTEN.  Wochenschrift.  Wien, 
VIII.  Josefstädterstrasse  79. 

IN  RUSSIAN: 

„yKPAHHCKAH  ^H3Hb,"  ejKeMicHHHLifi  acypHajit.  Mo- 
CKBa,  B.  ^MHTpOBKa,  14.  ("Ukrainian  Life",  monthly 
magazine,  appearing  in  Moscow,  Russia,  since  1912). 


N.  B.  Arrangements  have  been  made  for  publishing  a 
Ukrainian  periodical  in  ENGLISH,  at  Lausanne, 
Switzerland. 


BOOKS  ON  THE  UKRAINIAN  QUESTION 
TO  BE  OBTAINED  FROM: 

THE  UKRAINIAN  NATIONAL  COUNCIL, 
83  Grand  St.,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

THE  UKRAINE,  reprint  of  a  Lecture  Delivered  on  Ukrai- 
nian History  and  Present-Day  Political  Problems  by 
Bedwin  Sands.  London,  1914.  (Illustrated). — 
Net  $0.50. 

MEMORANDUM  on  the  Ukrainian  Question  in  its  Na- 
tional Aspect  by  Yaroslav  Fedortchouk.  Lon- 
don, 19 14. — Net  $0.50. 

THE  UKRAINE  AND  THE  UKRAINIANS.  By  Ste- 
fan Rudnitsky,  Ph.  D.  (With  three  maps).  Jer- 
sey City,  N.  J.— Net  $0.25. 

THE  RUSSIAN  PLOT  TO  SEIZE  GALICIA  (Austrian 
Ruthenia)  by  Vladimir  Stepankovsky.  Second 
edition  enlarged,  (With  portraits  and  maps). — Net 
$0.25. 


The  following  publications  on  the  Ukrainian  question  are  being  prepared: 

RUSSIA,  POLAND  AND  THE  UKRAINE  by  Prof. 
Gustaf  Steffen  (translated  from  the  Swedish). 

A  SYMPOSIUM  ON  THE  UKRAINIAN  QUESTION 
by  Edwin  Björkman,  Michael  Hrushevsky,  Prof.  Otto 
Hoetzsch  and  others. 


N.  B.  Besides  those  books,  there  have  appeared  during  the 
present  European  war  various  publications  on  the 
Ukrainian  question :  in  Vienna,  Budapest,  Berlin, 
Rome,  Constantinople,  and  many  capitals  of  neutral 
states,  in  the  following  languages :  English,  German, 
Russian,  French,  Ukrainian,  Italian,  Hungarian, 
Bohemian,  Roumanian,  Bulgarian,  Swedish  'and 
Turkish. 


